Buchanan opposes Trump plan to weaken offshore drilling protection in the Gulf
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is once again taking a hard stance against the Trump administration’s plans for offshore drilling.
Buchanan, R-Longboat Keym initially fought back against Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke when he drafted a plan to put Gulf water up for lease as offshore drilling locations in January. At the time, Buchanan said it was a “recipe for disaster,” calling for legislation to prevent the move.
Now he’s doubling down with legislation that seeks to keep current oil and gas safety rules in place.
On Monday, Buchanan co-sponsored the Safe COAST Act that was introduced by Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan, D-California, in January. The bill would codify the Oil and Gas Production Safety Systems and Well Control rules — two sets of guidelines that ensure “protections for worker safety, the environment and coastal environments — into law.
“It would be a monumental mistake to lift these safeguards. The last thing we need after suffering through the devastating impact of red tide is to open the door to another catastrophic oil spill,” Buchanan said.
The Interior Department has gone back and forth over its plan to remove these restrictions, but on Friday the agency announced it would officially lift regulations put in place under the Obama administration. The rollback is set to take effect Dec. 27, if no action overrides it.
Experts say the move unnecessarily places Gulf waters in jeopardy. Miyoko Sakishima, director of the oceans program at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the plan, “isn’t just regulation, it’s willful ignorance.”
Other changes proposed by the Interior Department are: removing the requirement for oil companies to receive independent verification of safety measure used on offshore platforms; getting rid of the requirement that professional engineers certify the safety of the design of offshore drilling equipment; and eliminating the requirement that third-party auditors confirm safety and pollution prevention equipment are functional under extreme conditions.
The department said the rules were “potentially unduly burdensome requirements,” but Buchanan challenged the need to remove these guidelines, citing the oil industry’s recent success and profitability.
“If these safeguards are so burdensome, then why is the oil industry enjoying record profits? The U.S. is currently producing over 11 million barrels of oil per day — a level we have not reached since the 1970s, rivaling the world’s top producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia.”
Buchanan, who has a long history of protecting Florida’s Gulf Coast, recently announced that he is the only Florida Republican to be endorsed by Ocean Champions in his race against Democrat David Shapiro. In May he proposed a bipartisan Marine Oil Spill Prevention Act that extends the moratorium against offshore drilling along much of the Gulf Coast.
This story was originally published October 2, 2018 at 1:57 PM.